City, then managed by Roberto Mancini, conceded a late Ben Watson goal to lose last year's showpiece against the Latics, who would go on to be relegated from the Premier League.

The Black Cats travel to Wembley on Sunday looking for their first major trophy since 1973, and Poyet expects Manuel Pellegrini's free-scoring charges to be extra motivated after the disappointment they suffered last year.

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"It's going to be extremely difficult. We are aware of Manchester City - the players they have, the opportunity, what happened to them last year in the FA Cup," the Uruguayan manager said. "There are plenty of things that are there for them to go and use this opportunity to show the quality team they are.

"We are going to try our best. We are going to be much better than last weekend (in a 4-1 loss to Arsenal) I hope and we're going to try our best to make the Sunderland fans very proud."

Goalkeeper Vito Mannone, who only moved to Sunderland in the summer, is looking forward to the occasion and is eager to repay the fans with victory.

"It's great to be able to perform every week and give something back to the special fans," the former Arsenal shot stopper said. "They have been really supportive through the season with the difficulties that we had. I got my chance and I think I took it.

"Winning something always stays with you and everyone will remember it. It's something that you dream of as a kid to win a cup or win something, that's why we are footballers. We want to be winners and having the chance to win a cup, an important cup in England, would be amazing."